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My build for the bare metal challenge

Okay , so here is the beginning of my build. I've done a couple things since receiving this bike, but this is pretty close to how I got it. And here's the tank I've worked on for the past couple of days. Cleaned up the welds, now I need to add a door and drill strap mount holes. Still haven't fully determined if I'll weld nuts inside for the strap screws or how I'll do the door. And I've added gold-painted rimstrips inside the rims to accent the brass filament of the frame and brass spoke nipples. You'll probably see a few more bits of brass on this build. My new appreciation for brass courtesy of slick who I assume built these wheels before I got the bike from him.

Sweet tank. By brass filament do you mean the brazing on the frame? I couldn't see it too good on my tiny screen. It's so cool to see that when you strip a brazed frame isn't it.? And I like the wheels, are they 72 hole rims? Brass will make awesome accents. 8)

Great build.. out of all your bikes thats one of my favorites...very cool

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I remember you said you liked it the best. What do you think of the tank?

jackdaw said:

Sweet tank. By brass filament do you mean the brazing on the frame? I couldn't see it too good on my tiny screen. It's so cool to see that when you strip a brazed frame isn't it.? And I like the wheels, are they 72 hole rims? Brass will make awesome accents. 8)

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Yeah, I don't know why I say filament, but it's the brazing. The rims are alloys that a member here, slick(I think he did it anyway) drilled extra holes in.

Charles said:

Way cool!
What's the make on that cycle?

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Hawthorne I believe

OUTLAW said:

I like this bike. the tank turned out nice. did you mig or braze the seams? awsome.Outlaw 8)

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Mig, and I mean the cheap dimestore mig welder, but that's what a sanding wheel is for :lol:

I might swap the fork. This one is just tweaked enough that I'm the only one who knows. I'm thinking of adding a sanded down 40's Schwinn fork. Headlight will either be the rustiest Stewart Warner clone, or a 20's lantern. I'll have to pick between form and function.

Thanks. I fine-sanded the flash rust off today so it looks a little better. If you get sweaty and work on the bike one time, a week later you have brown handprints all over the place. I'll clearcoat before the end, but for now I still need it together to help me make decisions on parts or changes.

Okay, I know I shouldn't rely on other opinions for a build, but Regis is throwing me a lifeline. First I should tell you that I will be incorporating a strange brass assembly with a lense as a rear taillight. It will be converted to led, but later on I might hardwire it to work with a battery tube or something. With that said, should I go with the ultra-rusty but functional bullet light with the glass lense that is very functional, or should I use the brass bicycle lantern? I like the lantern for the brass and the fact that it will match the taillight to a degree. But part of me thinks the lantern is too decorative, and I like how the bullet light contour matches the bracket it's on. So go ahead and hit with your truths!

I didn't really think to do shots of making the tank. To be honest it didn't take long. I got lucky because the opening in the frame is 2" tall and I started with 2"x2" square tubing. I placed the tubing in the frame opening and sketched a line for the bend/curve of the top bar. Then I gut with an abrasive wheel, slowly and outside the line to avoid removing too much metal. Then I used a flap wheel to get the tank sides where I needed them. I then cut a panel out of the tubing and cut it to length. I welded it at the top of the tank and used the sides of the tank to bend the panel along until it matched and was fit together pretty tight. Then I welded the panel in and cleaned up the welds. I also cut a small square and welded it on the front to fully close in the tank. I'm still trying to figure out the door. I honestly like the tank without a door because it looks so clean. But it is useless without a door as far as function is concerned. I was going to cut an opening and bevel the edges, then do the same with the door for a flush fit. But I also like the idea of using some dirty tin for a door to give contrast.
Also, here's that wannabe taillight I was talking about. The red lense opens, and the side tube has a screw to secure a lamp socket. Also there is a threaded hole on the rear to secure it to a bracket.

When it comes to welding I am a complete amateur, and on top of that I have the lamest welder available. But I find that if you sketch what you want to build in exact size, the rest is just putting pieces together. It helped that this steel was much thicker than what an original tank would be contructed of. Otherwise my welder would have shot so many holes in it that it wouldn't resemble anything good.

Gosh ozzmonaut, that is a hard choice for the light! I think the lantern goes with the taillight alot better but like you said it's pretty ornate. Can you take some part of it off? Or just use part of it? I'm really liking the brass. Looks great!

I think I might ditch the lantern and run leads from the bullet light to power a bulb in the brass taillight, that way it is all functional. The bullet light has a bracket with the exact same curve, which makes it look kind of "tucked in". I like that lantern but the rust on the other light has the contrast I want. I'm headed to the salvage yard now. Hopefully I find some cool stuff.

Okay, tonight I cut the hole in the tank for the door. I was using a sanding wheel to open up the hole and get it even when I realized that doing so was leaving a razor edge inside the tank opening. I'm going to have to borrow a dremel tool to take care of it. Then I'll drill holes in the top, insert a wood dowel into the holes, threading a nut onto the dowel inside, and use that to hold them while I tack them in. That way the wood can be removed leaving the nuts inside. Look at that dripping flash rust!